State Responses to the Evolving Individual Health Insurance Market

These are the speaker biographies for the public briefing on Friday, July 20, 2018, titled "State Responses to the Evolving Individual Health Insurance Market."

Friday, July 20, 2018

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Sabrina Corlette, J.D., is a senior research fellow and project director at the Center on Health Insurance Reforms (CHIR) at Georgetown University’s Health Policy Institute and an adjunct professor of law at the Georgetown University Law Center. At CHIR she directs research on health insurance reform issues as they affect consumers and patients. Her areas of focus include state and federal regulation of private health insurance plans and markets and implementation of new insurance market rules under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). She provides expertise and strategic advice to individuals and organizations on federal and state health insurance laws and programs and provides technical support through the development of resource guides, white papers, issue briefs, blogs and fact sheets. She has published numerous papers relating to the regulation of private health insurance and the development of health insurance marketplaces under the ACA. Prior to joining the Georgetown faculty, Ms. Corlette was director of health policy programs at the National Partnership for Women & Families, where she provided policy expertise and strategic direction for the organization’s advocacy on health care reform, with a particular focus on insurance market reform, benefit design, and the quality and affordability of health care. From 1997 to 2001, Ms. Corlette worked as a professional staff member of the U.S. Senate Health Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, where she served as health legislative assistant to Senator Tom Harkin, D-Iowa. After leaving the Hill, Ms. Corlette served as an attorney at the law firm Hogan Lovells (formerly Hogan & Hartson LLP), where she advised clients on health care law and policy relating to HIPAA, Medicare and Medicaid, and the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Ms. Corlette is a member of the D.C. Bar and received her J.D. with high honors from the University of Texas at Austin and her undergraduate degree with honors from Harvard University

Mike Kreidler, O.D., MPH, is the Washington State insurance commissioner. Mike Kreidler is Washington’s eighth insurance commissioner, first elected in 2000 and re-elected to his fifth term in 2016. Commissioner Kreidler has earned a reputation both as a staunch advocate for consumer advocacy and as a fair and balanced regulator. The commissioner served 16 years in the state Legislature, first as a Representative and then Senator. He later was elected to Congress. In both the Legislature and Congress, much of the commissioner’s work focused improving health care options for consumers. In 1998 he was appointed Regional Director for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Region 10 office in Seattle. He served in that post until 2000. A doctor of optometry, he practiced at the former Group Health Cooperative in Olympia, Washington, for 20 years. He holds a master’s degree in public health from UCLA. The commissioner retired from the Army Reserves as a lieutenant colonel after 20 years of service. He is the most-tenured insurance commissioner in the country, providing leadership that spans from health care reform to climate change.

Robert Morrow, J.D., is the associate commissioner of life and health at the Maryland Insurance Administration. He was appointed to this position by Maryland Insurance Commissioner Al Redmer, Jr. He previously served as the associate commissioner of hearings. Prior to joining the Maryland Insurance Administration, Morrow served as managing counsel at the Transamerica Life Insurance Co. In that capacity, he acted as legal counsel to both Transamerica Life & Protection Division and Affinity Markets Group where he was responsible for negotiating contracts, researching and analyzing legal matters with insurance carriers and other third parties. Morrow joined the Maryland Insurance Administration after 13-years at Transamerica. Previously, Morrow was also a staff attorney with Spectera (now Optum Health) and a law clerk at the Pennsylvania Insurance Department.

Brian Webb, MPA, is the Assistant Director for Health Policy and Legislation for the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). The NAIC represents the insurance regulators in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and 5 U.S. territories. Before joining the NAIC, Brian worked on Medicare and Medicaid policy for the BlueCross BlueShield Association and, prior to that, was the Assistant Vice President for Legislation for the then-Federation of American Health Systems (FAHS). Brian began working in Washington, D.C. on health care policy in 1988 as a legislative aide for Congressman Bill Thomas. After six years with Congressman Thomas, Brian worked five years in California Governor Pete Wilson’s Washington, D.C., office as health and welfare aide and Deputy Director. Brian Webb has a master’s degree in Public Administration from the George Washington University and a bachelor’s degree from BIOLA University in California.

Jeanette Thornton, MPA, is the senior vice president, health plan operations and strategy at America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP). She leads AHIP’s activities on health insurance marketplaces and serves as a lead liaison between the federal government and private health insurers, focusing on Affordable Care Act implementation and health plan operations. Before joining AHIP, Jeanette worked as a senior analyst in the Information Technology and E-Government Office at the Office of Management and Budget. Jeanette began her career as a presidential management fellow at the Social Security Administration.

Moderator

Sara R. Collins, Ph.D., is vice president for Health Care Coverage and Access program at The Commonwealth Fund. An economist, Dr. Collins joined the Fund in 2002 and has led the Fund’s national program on health insurance since 2005. Since joining the Fund, Dr. Collins has led several national surveys on health insurance and authored numerous reports, issue briefs and journal articles on health insurance coverage and policy. She has provided invited testimony before several Congressional committees and subcommittees. Prior to joining the Fund, Dr. Collins was associate director/senior research associate at the New York Academy of Medicine, Division of Health and Science Policy. Earlier in her career, she was an associate editor at U.S. News & World Report, a senior economist at Health Economics Research, and a senior health policy analyst in the New York City Office of the Public Advocate. She holds an A.B. in economics from Washington University and a Ph.D. in economics from George Washington University.